The Missing Piece
by Kylie Concorde
Summary: Voldemort has achieved his main aspirations. He has conquered death forever and holds the whole of the wizarding world in the palm of his hand. So why does he still feel as though something is missing? Why does he feel so numb? AU. One-shot.


**Author's Note: **So this is a rather sad story of what would've happened if Voldemort had walked away from the battle unharmed and learned the secret of immortality, while his most precious follower was left dead on the floor. It's written in present tense, from Voldemort's perspective and tries to show what he has now become. Be aware that I don't normally write stories in present tense so there might be some errors. I don't normally write stories which are this gloomy either. I'm usually a very light-hearted person, this is just an idea I had.

**The Missing Piece**

I know not, how long it has been since I triumphed over death itself. Hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions of years have passed, I cannot tell. Time no longer seems significant to me. Days fly by me in the blink of an eye.

I see the world the way I desire it. The few muggle-borns left on this Earth are slaves to the pure-blood families. While the pure-blood families remain slaves to me. They bend to my will as easily as if they were twigs.

There are of course those who serve me out their own will. Generations of followers, claiming to have earned my respect and admiration. Those people are simply delusional. They care not for me, they crave only my power. I have never known a servant who supported me out of anything other then envy and fear… or have I?

My mind has had much to process over the immense period of time it has existed for. Perhaps there was once a time when one soul did bow before me out of pure devotion, but my memories of such a time are hazy, like something out of a dream.

As I pass through the thick trees, the darkness of the forest weighs down on me. The night sky shines overhead. The atmosphere is so serene that I turn around every time I hear a twig snap beneath my feet.

The sound of rustling leaves reaches my ears; in an instant the creature which made it lies dead. Examining the hedge behind me, I uncover the body of a centaur. A cold laugh escapes me. The foolish creature sought to overpower me, to destroy me, but such an achievement is beyond the reach of all who walk the earth. For I have discovered the Fruit of Life, the key to immortality and eternal youth. I cannot die, not until the universe itself comes to an end. So why do I feel so incomplete, so unsatisfied?

The Fruit of Life appeared before me, once I had gained control over all three of the Deathly Hallows. The image of it has since disappeared from my memory, but I'll never forget the sensation I received from it. From the moment I took my first bite, I felt a wild rush of exhilaration. Every part of me seemed to tingle with joy.

As I continue to mock the dead centaur, I hear another harsh cackle, echoing through the forest, in harmony with mine. I glance around, but spot no one.

It wasn't until years after I had eaten the fruit that I became aware of a deep emptiness forming within me. It was as though a part of my life had been lost forever.

I did my best to ignore it, but over time what started as nothing more than a missing piece has grown stronger. The positive feeling the fruit had given me is now a memory. It has been eclipsed by the nothingness, which is now consuming me from the inside. I feel as though a void has been buried within me. Maybe it all has something to do with the laugh I have just heard.

I stroll onwards through the forest. My bare foot treads upon an object too round and too smooth to be merely another rock. Filled with curiosity, I hold the stone up to the moonlight. I have seen it before somewhere. Where or when or I have seen it, I do not know.

As I turn the stone over in my hand absent-mindedly, a figure springs to life before me. She is more than a ghost, but still she doesn't seem to be composed of flesh and bone. Her body is slender and her long dark hair rests gracefully upon her shoulders.

'It is such a joy to see you again, my Lord,' she smiles at me playfully.

'Who are you?' I ask her. I have seen this woman before; I just know I have, yet my mind is still blank.

'You don't remember?' She gazes at me, her eyes brimming with shock and some other emotion I can't quite put my finger on. Sadness is what they call it, I believe.

'How could you have forgotten?' she continues, 'I devoted my life to you. I died fighting for your cause and I'll do it again, if you'll only remember me and all I have done for you.'

As she speaks, a picture flashes before my eyes, a picture of a woman toppling to the ground after being hit by a beam of green light. As I'm watching my own distant memories, I hear a scream. Could I have been the one screaming?

'I have grown wiser and more confident since last we met. I can tell that my absence from your life has affected you, but you do not understand how. You probably never will understand.' She sighed, closing her eyes and bending her head downwards.

'Are you the missing part of me?' I ask.

She looks up at me, her eyes widen, 'So I am something to you.'

'Well something is definitely missing,' I reply.

She grins at me once more. 'Come join me.'

'What?'

'Don't you get it? You're already dead! You wonder this earth an empty shell. Because you've rejected your emotions for so long, you've stopped feeling them altogether. Your spirit has left this world, now all that's left is for your consciousness to join it. Please, come with me, my Lord.' She offers her hand to me.

'I can't.' I state, simply, 'I am immortal. I will never die.'

'Then you are as much a prisoner of this world, as you are its occupant.'

Now the woman has begun to fade gradually. Her outline becomes less focussed with every passing second. As I watch her disappear, something strange happens to me. The numbness, I have become so accustomed to, shatters. Finally I begin to feel something for her. I find myself calling out to her, begging her not to leave. I tell her that she is only one who can break through my shell, who can teach me what it means to be truly alive.

But it is too late. She is gone. And still I don't understand. Still I feel nothing.

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So tell me what you think!

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